309 KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS IN PRIMARY CARE: AN IMPORTANT CAUSE OF SANITARY COST

Abstract

Purpose: Knee osteoarthritis is the most common cause of painful knee from age 50. It is very frequent in the Spanish population. According to the EPISER study, performed by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology, 29% of the Spanish population over age 60 showed symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to assess the consumption of health care and Social Security resources by a group of patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis in an urban Primary Care Clinic in La Coruna (Spain). Methods: A transversal descriptive study was performed, which included patients over age 25 and diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. The total number of patients was 200. Direct medical costs were studied: total number of Primary Care consults, lab, x-rays and sick leave costs. Direct medical costs were calculated according to the economic value assigned to health care in D.O.G. (Diario Oficial de Galicia, Law 159/2005, June 2) and lab tests fees of the Spanish Society of Clinical Biopathology. The labor cost per worker were estimated from published sources (National Statistical Institute). Results: According to SERGAS reference fees, the Primary Care cost per consult is 26.50€. Considering that the total number of consults was 1,003, the total annual cost is 26,579€ (133€ per patient per year). The cost of a basic lab test is 13.44€. The number of lab tests performed in one year was 285, so the total cost generated is 3,830€ (19€ per patient per year). 188 patients were referred for radiology, and three x-rays were performed per patient: one AP on knees and lateral x-rays on each knee. The total nu mber of x-rays was 564. The reference cost per x-ray is 27.58€. The total annual cost is 15,555€ (78€ per patient per year). The number of sick leave days was 2,675, which generated a total cost of 119,037€. The annual sick leave cost per patient generated by the 57 working-age patients (28.5% over 200 between ages 25 and 65) would be 2,088€. Conclusions: Knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of utilisation of health care resources and sick leave in our clinic. The sick leave cost is more than twice the direct medical costs in Primary Care. The cost per patient per year is 825€, this amount leaving aside pharmaceutical costs. 310 PREDICTORS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYMPTOMATIC KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS IN THOSE WITH ASYMPTOMATIC RADIOGRAPHIC TIBIO-FEMORAL OSTEOARTHRITIS AT BASELINE: ONE-YEAR DATA FROM THE OSTEOARTHRITIS INITIATIVE (OAI)